This invention relates to firefighting equipment and, in particular, to equipment for discharging water from personal watercraft.
Fires often occur aboard vessels, in other floating structures or in structures adjacent to the water such as wharves or warehouses. Dedicated fire boats are commonly used to combat such fires. However these boats are traditionally large and expensive. Therefore they are impractical for many locations. In addition, many locations are difficult or impossible to access by land-based firefighters.
Consequently, there is a need for relatively inexpensive equipment capable of fighting fires aboard boats, other floating equipment or waterside structures. In the past various attempts have been made to provide equipment capable of supplying a stream of water for fighting fires from smaller craft such as outboard motor-powered boats and personal watercraft, usually known as jet skis.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,313 shows a firefighting accessory for jet propulsion systems. Two variations are intended for outboard propulsion systems, while one variation is intended for inboard type jet propulsion systems. In one embodiment an accessory is placed between the outlet end of the drive tube and the jet nozzle with attached steering nozzle. There is a flap valve which allows diversion of water through the steering nozzle or the firefighting nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,597 shows the general idea of a firefighting attachment for outboard motors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,960 shows an auxiliary water projector for jet propelled watercraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,630 to Jacuzzi discloses jet propulsion devices for vessels and firefighting equipment applied thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,057 discloses a ship having a water-injecting means for driving the ship and spraying water.
However, these devices have not met with widespread acceptance. The main reason is the inability to steer, causing the water stream to miss the target, especially in conditions of winds and currents. Another reason for this is that some prior art devices are not readily attachable to and detachable from personal watercraft. With some earlier devices the personal watercraft effectively has to be permanently dedicated to firefighting. This is not always practical. For example, it may be desired to have the personal watercraft used for other purposes, such as rescue operations. If a fire develops, then it would be desirable to quickly adapt such personal watercraft for firefighting by easily attaching required equipment for training a stream of water on the fire.
Also, some prior art devices are not convenient to use. A single operator must be capable oftraining a stream of water on the fire while maneuvering the personal watercraft to achieve the desired position or to maintain a desirable position in spite of winds and currents. This means that the controls must be readily capable of operating the craft and controlling the stream of water at the same time.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved firefighting attachment for a personal watercraft which can be readily attached to the personal watercraft and detached from the personal watercraft as required.
It is also one object of the invention to provide an improved firefighting attachment for personal watercraft which allows the personal watercraft to be easily maneuvered while an operator simultaneously trains a stream of water on a fire.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved firefighting attachment for personal watercraft which is simple and rugged in construction, reliable and simple to operate.